Eating Well at Work Dear Disney Cast Member & Omada Participant, You re in a great position to start eating healthier! As you continue in Omada, you ll learn some simple guidelines that will help you fill your plate with healthy, wholesome foods. You ll also benefit from Disney s Mindful Meals program, which clearly identifies healthier options at Disney Cafés by marking them with a green apple symbol. To make it easier for you to pick the perfect menu items, we ve put together this quick guide. Yours in good health, The Omada Team Omada & Mindful Meal s Eating Guidelines The Mindful Meal guidelines are wonderfully similar to Omada s recommendations, with a big focus on veggies and and lean proteins. Mindful Meals also follow a key Omada guideline when it comes to losing weight and preventing chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart disease: cutting back on starchy carbs like pasta and bread. These simple carbs provide a lot of calories, with very little nutrition.
Look for the Green Apple! Mindful Meals are found in all backstage Cast Caf és, and can be identified by the green apple logo pictured below: Look for this logo on menus, snack items, meals, and posters around the cafeteria when choosing your meals and snacks. Some entree stations have a Mindful Meal of the Day, which you may see posted outside the cafeteria. Choosing a Mindful Meal of the Day can help save you time, as you ll get a healthier meal without having to piece together menu items on your own. Most items at the Cafés have total calorie count listed for you. If you are unable to find a meal with the Mindful Meals logo, look at total calorie count to help you compare options. Plan Ahead All Cast Caf és have a weekly menu posted at the front entrance where you can view the week s Mindful food options. Take a look before you walk into the cafeteria to help you narrow down some healthier food choices. Café menus are also posted online. Browse the various food options and consider recording the best choices in your phone or on a piece of paper kept in your wallet. This way, you ll have already identified healthy options before your next mealtime. If you have any questions about menu items, please ask your Omada coach before ordering! To check out menus online, simply follow this link. You should see a page like the one below:
On this page, hover over the CAF E S at the top, and click on the cafeteria where you like to eat. For this example, we clicked on The Inn Between. On the Caf é page, look for the Printable PDF with this week s date on it. Clicking on this will take you to this week s menu for your cafe:
A Sample Order Let s look at Monday s options to pick some meals! As you can see, there are a variety of menu choices available each day, including some Mindful Meal options. Now, let s see which ones also fit Omada s nutritional guidelines. Remember, we want to focus on lean proteins and veggies, without adding too many starchy carbs or refined grains. Healthiest Options Potential Options Turkey Chili : A great entree option, as it contains lean meat (turkey), veggies, and only high-fiber carbohydrates (beans). Philly Chicken Cheese Steak : This option contains some starchy carbs (the bun) but can still be a healthy choice if you can moderate the portion size by eating only half the bun, or do without the bun and add a side of veggies instead. Mandarin Chicken Salad Plate : A low-carb healthy salad option; this plate contains lots of veggies and lean protein (chicken). Cream of Fresh Broccoli Soup : While it contains broccoli (a non-starchy vegetable), this soup contains no lean protein. As a cream soup, this most likely contains a higher amount of saturated fat than a vegetable broth or stew. It may make a good side, but is not a wholesome meal on its own.
Now you try! Take a look at Sunday s menu options. Which option(s) look healthiest to you? Enter at least one menu item in the Healthiest Options section of the chart below. We ll help get you started! Healthiest Options Potential Options Steamed Vegetable Medley : Steamed vegetables are a fantastic choice to have along with any meal! Check to see if there is a source of proteins (lentils, beans). If not, consider getting a lean protein on the side (Greek yogurt, hardboiled egg, chicken breast) to make it a more complete and satisfying meal. Which Mindful Meal options look fairly healthy but might contain too many calories, or bit too much fat or starchy carbs? What changes could you make to the order to make it even healthier? Enter at least one menu item in the Potential Options section of the chart above.
Key Points for Healthy Eating Look for the Mindful Meals logo when choosing your food items. Go online to preview your options for the next day, or the week ahead. Get a punch card for every 9 Mindful Meal entrees you buy, you get 1 free Mindful Meal. Salads and/or vegetables are always an option even when not on the daily menu. Remember you can also order your dressing on the side! Make water your go-to beverage choice. Share your favorite Mindful Meals with other Disney Cast Members. Share your ideas with your coach; he or she will be happy to help guide you and pick out some healthy options!